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Lost In Dreams

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This is the tenth album from the former popsinger, saxophonist and songwriter.
"Lost In Dreams" is the latest chapter in his musical odyssey of a career - an adventure with more than the usual share of twists and turns, and even a few perils.
Born and raised in Boise, Idaho, Stigers spent his early school years studying clarinet and saxophone - two instruments that awakened his jazz sensibilities at an early age.
During his teenage years and beyond, he often sat in with legendary jazz pianist Gene Harris, who held weekly jam sessions at a local club in Boise.
During the '70s and '80s, Stigers was also immersed in the punk rock and new wave scenes of the day. It's no surprise, then, that the circumstances surrounding his first records were marked by confusion between artist and label about creative direction.
His self-titled debut album on Arista in 1991 Curtis Stigers was a straight-ahead pop album that sold 1.5 million copies worldwide, thanks to several hit singles and numerous appearances on the talk show circuit.
A struggle between Arista and Curtis Stigers then emerged over the next three years, as he wanted to go down a roots rock direction. When it was eventually realised it was a commercial disappointment, and Curtis left the record company to focus on jazz.
"I wanted to be Loudon Wainwright meets John Hiatt", he admits.
He eventually signed with Columbia, where he released a third pop album, Brighter Days, in 1999.
He left Columbia after "Brighter Days", once again taking his unreleased jazz record with him. During session work as a guest vocalist on one of Gene Harris' last records, Curtis met Concord producer John Burk, who offered to release the orphaned jazz record.
His jazz debut Baby Plays Around was then followed by four more albums on Concord.
Curtis Stigers is more than the easy-listening artist he's often labelled as.
In 2007, the swinging sax-playing jazz vocalist made the point resoundingly clear with his album Real Emotional, a mix of originals and classics by the likes of Emmylou Harris, Tom Waits and Mose Allison. Stigers's laconic tones were complemented by his funk-sax sound; he revealed an affecting eloquence on a heartache song like "I Only Want To Be With You", or demonstrate a technical subtlety of haunting inflections on Emmylou Harris's "I Don't Wanna Talk About It Now".
In his new album, "Lost In Dreams" - which includes "My Funny Valentine", "Bye Bye Blackbird" and "In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning", but also Annie Lennox's "Cold" and John Lennon's "Jealous Guy" - he sustains the same engaging formula of "Real Emotional" and his reputation for distinctive mixes.
It has taken a very long time, but the American singer is finally winning over jazz critics, who -- even after the beautiful You Inspire Me -- could not forgive him the sins of his pop past.
An unorthodox mix of evergreens, originals and unusual singer-songwriter material (including Ron Sexsmith's "Reason for Our Love"), the latest set marks another stage in Stigers's rehabilitation. Nobody has a sharper eye for a promising tune, although Stigers can't quite breathe life into an easy-going arrangement of "We'll Meet Again" prefaced with a dip into Pink Floyd's "Vera".
Just to conclude, "Lost In Dreams" might be the one to knock down the sniffy purist barriers, Stigers' rough hewn but heartfelt, finger-snapping delivery applying itself to an eclectic set.